Dance & Fashion

Dance & Fashion

Dance and fashion are the two great embodied art forms. Dress and adornment have long played an important role in the visual allure of dance, and fashion designers have often been inspired by the way dancers look. In recent years, fashion designers have also increasingly been invited to create dance costumes. “Fashion designers need to realize that the dancer is not walking down a runway—she is leaping into the air,” says Marc Happel, costume director of the New York City Ballet. “When they design for a dancer, they are designing for an athlete.”

The exhibition explores the synergy between dance and fashion by tracing the vectors of inspiration and collaboration. The focus is on performance dance, such as ballet and modern dance, not social dance, such as the waltz. Both dance costumes and fashionable dress are featured. The tutus and pointe shoes of the Romantic ballet, for example, closely resembled the fashions of the 1830s and 1840s. That they have continued to inspire designers from Christian Dior to Christian Louboutin is a testament to the iconic image of the ballerina. The Orientalism of the Ballets Russes and the image of the Spanish dancer have also influenced generations of fashion designers. Modern dance introduced a new vocabulary of movement and style, which continues to evolve and to influence how we dress.

Rise of Romantic Ballet

Ballet originated in the courts of Renaissance Italy and in seventeenth century France, but it reached new popularity in the 1830s with the rise of the Romantic Ballet. The ballarina’s tutu and pointe shoes came to symbolize feminine beauty.

Installation view

Left: Ballgown, 1860, lent by the Museum of the City of New York, gift of Mrs. Lewis E. Waring and Mrs. Henry M. Post, 1943

Romanticism in ballet was epitomized by the white dress worn by Marie Taglioni in La Sylphide (1832). That the color of virginal innocence should be associated with “the beautiful danger” of sylphs, willies, and swan maidens has intrigued dance scholars. Fashion historians have focused more on the symbolism of the little black dress, but this fashionable white ballgown clearly carried both ethereal and erotic connotations.

Right: Barbara Karinska for New York City Ballet, costume for Ballet Imperial, 1964, lent by New York City Ballet

George Balanchine once said that he “owed half of the success of his ballets
to Barbara Karinska.” They certainly worked very closely together. Both the
choreography and the costumes for Ballet Imperial may be interpreted as Balanchine’s loving tribute to Russia’s Mariinsky Theatre. The so-called “powder puff” tutus created by Karinska are modernized, but the costume trimmings echo Tsarist styles.

A Spanish Dancer

The great Romantic ballerina Fanny Elssler was best known for her role as the Spanish dancer, Florinda, in the ballet Le Diable boiteux (1836). Dancing the Cachucha, Elssler captured the public’s imagination, and her pink and black costume was almost as iconic as Taglioni’s white tutu in La Sylphide. As Théophile Gautier wrote: “She comes forward in a basquine skirt of pink satin trimmed with wide flounces of black lace; her skirt, weighted at the hem, fits tightly on the hips; her wasp-like figure is boldly arched back. . . . How she twists! How she bends! What fire! What voluptuousness! . . . Nothing approaches the Cachucha as danced by Elssler.”

Left: Dress, circa 1845, lent by the Museum of the City of New York, gift of Miss Mary T. Cockcroft, 1931

This lovely dress is reminiscent of Fanny’s Elssler’s famous pink and black dress of the
previous decade. Although the color pink only gradually became a symbol of femininity in the latter half of the nineteenth century, these dresses—one dance costume, the other fashion—imply that the development had already begun.

Giselle (1841) is among the most influential Romantic ballets. Arthur Mitchell used it to challenge the persistent stereotype that black dancers could not master ballet. By resetting his company’s Giselle from the feudal Rhineland to an 1841 Louisiana free black society, he also created a ballet that resonated with black audiences.

Ballet originated in the courts of Renaissance Italy and France, and flourished especially during the seventeenth century at the court of Louis XIV. Male dancers dressed as knights, gods, and heroes in costumes à la romaine resembling tournament fancy dress. This reproduction of a seventeenth-century dancer’s costume was worn for recreations of Baroque dance.

Right: Nicholas Georgiadis for the Boston Ballet Vest, shirt for Don Quixote, worn by Rudolph Nureyev, 1982, lent by John and Pamela Humphrey

With the rise of stars, such as Nijinsky, Nureyev, and Barishnikov, male dancers
ceased to be marginalized by ballerinas. Yet the costume of the male dancer has seldom exerted any influence on men’s fashion, perhaps in part due to the stereotype of “men in tights.”

Today great male dancers, such as Mikhail Barishnikov, are superstars. But in the
nineteenth century, critics like Jules Janin deplored the very presence on stage of the “ugly” male dancer, who should have been wearing a military uniform, not a “tunic of sky-blue satin.” According to Janin, it was “intolerable” that the ballerina was “forced to cut off half her petticoat to dress her partner with it.”

Margot Fonteyn loved fashion and was elected to the world’s best dressed list in 1965. A client of both Dior and Saint Laurent, she also worked to advance British fashion. Hardy Amies, a leading London couturier, was one of the designers Fonteyn helped to promote.

Left: Barbara Karinska for New York City Ballet, costume for La Valse, 1951, lent by New York City Ballet

Barbara Karinska created more than 9,000 costumes for New York City Ballet between the 1940s and the 1970s. La Valse, Karinska’s second commission as a designer for Balanchine, is a good example of how effectively her costumes supported the atmosphere of a dance.

Right: Millicent Hodson and Kenneth Archer after Christian Bérard for the Joffrey Ballet
Costume for the Hand of Fate in Balanchine’s Cotillon, 1988, appears courtesy of The Joffrey Ballet, Ashley Wheater, Artistic Director

The French artist Christian Bérard designed the original costumes for Cotillon
(1931), which were then made up by a young Barbara Karinska, who was profoundly influenced by Bérard’s neo-romantic style. Bérard’s costumes were later meticulously recreated by Millicent Hodson and Kenneth Archer for the Joffrey Ballet.

This evening dress by Balenciaga has the kind of hard, jeweled bodice and soft, full skirt that are characteristic of classic ballet costumes.

Right: Marc Happel for New York City Ballet, costume for Symphony in C, 2012, lent by New York City Ballet

“When I think about classical ballet, I am always drawn to Dior and Balenciaga,” says Marc Happel, costume director of the New York City Ballet. Asked to redesign the costumes for Symphony in C, he “immediately thought of the Dior ballgown, Junon. The petal shapes on the skirt were my inspiration for the Swarovski crystals that are used on the top layer of the tutu.”

Balanchine’s Jewels

Balanchine’s Jewels (1967), often described as the first full-length “plotless” ballet, has three acts. The first act, Emeralds, set to Gabriel Faurés music, features a romantic, calf-length tulle skirt.

The second act, Rubies, set to the music of Igor Stravinsky, has a short, fluted skirt that evokes a jazzy sensibility.

The third act, Diamonds, set to music by Pyotyr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, features a classical tutu, like those worn in Imperial Russia. Balanchine once said, “The ballet had nothing to do with jewels. The dancers are just dressed like jewels.”

Left to Right: Emeralds, Rubies, Diamonds / Barbara Karinska for New York City Ballet, costume for Jewels, 1967, lent by New York City Ballet

Ballets Russes

A powerful movement in ballet emerged in the early twentieth century, epitomized by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russses (1909-1929) which transformed the European cultural landscape. Many artists collaborated with Diaghilev, but the Russian Ballet’s greatest contribution to fashion derived from Léon Bakst’s costumes and sets for Schéhérazade (1910), which were pivotal in launching the vogue for Orientalist style that swept fashion in the early twentieth century.

If you’d like to delve deeper into the Ballets Russes, you can learn more from this Harvard College Library website.

Installation view

A Seraglio of Color and Voluptuousness

Léon Bakst’s costumes and sets for Schéhérazade (1910) were pivotal in launching the vogue for Orientalist style. As Cecil Beaton recalled: “A fashion world that had been dominated by corsets, lace, feathers, and pastel shades soon found itself in a city that overnight had become a seraglio of vivid colours, harem skirts, beads, fringes, and voluptuousness . . . all of which could be traced back to Bakst.”

Léon Bakst for the Ballet Russes, costume for a Young Man, Schéhérazade, 1910, 2014.1.1

A Tall, Willowy Siren in Turkish Trousers

Sonia Keppel recalled how “many of those who saw [Schéhérazade] were powerfully affected by it, and some of the most unlikely people suddenly saw themselves as pagan gods and enchantresses. They all dressed up in Eastern dress, and, to this day, my childhood’s recollection of Lady Juliet is of a very tall, willowy siren, in Turkish trousers.”

Léon Bakst for the Ballets Russes Costume for a Dancing Girl, made for a 1920s or ‘30s production of Schéhérazade, lent by Ravenscourt Galleries, London. Photo: courtesy of Ravenscourt Galleries, London

Poiret Claims Credit

The French couturier Paul Poiret always hotly denied that he had been influenced by the Ballets Russes. Although the historical evidence contradicts his claim to have pioneered the “Oriental” look in fashion, he certainly played an important role in popularizing it. Poiret designed this costume for a fancy dress party in 1919.

Saint Laurent Designs for the Ballet

The Orientalism of the Ballets Russes has influenced generations of fashion designers from 1910 to the present. But Yves Saint Laurent’s 1976 “Ballets Russes” collection was especially influential, because it reintroduced extravagant fantasy into fashion. Although criticized at the time as too much like costume, it is now widely regarded as Saint Laurent’s greatest collection.

Modern Dance

The rise of modern dance in the early twentieth century challenged the aesthetic hegemony of the ballet. The costumes worn by modern dancers, such as Isadora Duncan and Martha Graham, have influenced fashion.

Between Body and Dress

Costumes were integral to the choreography of Martha Graham. For Lamentation (1930), she wore jersey tubing tied with string at the waist, the fabric given shape by her movement. “There is a beautiful alchemy that happens when fabric connects with the body,” says fashion designer Doo.Ri Chung. “Martha Graham’s Lamentation embodies this relationship in the most moving way.”

Halston re-designed Martha Graham’s costumes for a television version of Clytemnestra, incorporating metallic fabrics for added dramatic effect. “He never deviates from the human body,” Graham said. “His garments are cut so adroitly that there is no strain. When the dress is on you, it stays where it’s put . . . like another skin.”

Martha Graham often modified her costumes, even minutes before going on stage. Her costume for Clytemnestra, underwent many such revisions. While the original 1958 design featured gold metallic bands at the neckline and “dagger” appliqué along the hem, in this 1960 design, the appliqué have been replaced with elaborate metallic embroideries of scalloped bands, foliage, and stars, all of which move along with the choreographed movements.

A Mutual Admiration

As Martha Graham’s greatest benefactor and admirer, Halston designed costumes for her dances, looking to her for direction. “She never wants to inhibit my creativity,” Halston explained, “although I constantly look to her for inspiration saying . . . I want to be in your hands.” This costume features a sarong-style lamé skirt, which gathers just below the pelvis, accentuating the torso’s expressive gestures.

A Synthesis of Fabric and Movement

Martha Graham used costume both to emphasize movement and to explore ambient space. In Letter to the World (1940), a performance based on the life of Emily Dickinson, Graham wore a simple, off-white dress with a fluid skirt that was integral to every gesture and allowed her to sculpt the space around her. As one observer described, it was “cloth with which, through twist, turn and arc of leg, to make a dramatic effect.”

Costume as movement

Judith Jamison’s costume in Cry comes alive in transformative motion. The skirt ruffles create a roiling froth at her feet, arcs of flashing white as she kicks out, and whirling planes when she spins. As dance scholar Brenda Dixon-Gottschild describes it, the “skirts are wings, wind, and a banner of freedom all in one.”

Installation view

For Dramatic Effect

Imperial Gesture (1935) is a politically charged solo performance created by Martha Graham shortly after she declined the Nazi regime’s invitation to perform at the 1936 Olympic Games. In it, Graham wore a full, circular jewel-tone skirt that essentially served as her partner in dance. Snapped at the front, the skirt featured panels that could be held aloft like wings and lashed violently to accentuate a defiant stomp.

Costume for Imperial Gesture, 2013, original design by Martha Graham, 1935, reconstruction Design by Karen Young and Kim Jones for Martha Graham Dance Company, lent by Martha Graham Dance Company

The reconstruction of this costume was supported, in part, by funds provided by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

In Martha Graham’s Primitive Mysteries, her chorus dancers wore stark jersey dresses, which were fitted along the bodice, and opened wider towards the hips to permit leg extension. These costumes contrasted with Graham’s white gown. As an observer recalled, “One only remembers the total impression . . . the long sweep of [the Virgin’s] white dress in the processional entrance, the maidens in their stark blue, almost uniform attire, setting off the virginal white.”

For her role as the Virgin in Primitive Mysteries (1931), Graham performed in a full-skirted dress of white organza, with hanging sleeves reminiscent of flower petals. In 1948, Life magazine deemed Graham’s long–skirted costumes a precursor to Christian Dior’s New Look, explaining “As far back as the late 1930s, Martha Graham’s modern ballet troupe was wearing the knee-covering, bosomexposing garments currently featured as the New Looks.”

Neo-Classical Draperies

The rise of modern dance in the early twentieth century challenged the aesthetic hegemony of the ballet. Isadora Duncan, in particular, revolutionized dance with her “natural” movements and physically liberating neoclassical draperies. This dress demonstrates the influence of Duncan’s aesthetic on fashion. Such a dress would have been suitable for social dances such as the tango, which were also dispensing with boned corsets.

The influence of Isadora Duncan’s modern dance costumes can still be seen in fashion, as this dress by Alber Elbaz of Lanvin demonstrates. Compare it with the photograph of Fokina in a Duncan-inspired ballet costume at the bottom of the image.

Installation view

The Beauty of the Dancer’s Body

“Having the opportunity to create for a dancer is enormously inspiring,” says Narciso Rodriguez. “The beauty of the dancer’s body is always my starting point—the way the muscles move, the grace and athleticism, the line of the body in motion. The wrong costumes can distract from the dancer’s movements or cover up the body. I prefer to emphasize the beauty of the body in motion, in a way that is as pure and uncluttered as possible.”

Stepping Into Fashion

Rick Owens was so inspired by the dynamism of African-American stepping that he invited 40 step dancers to perform at his runway show in Paris. Recruited from step teams in New York and Washington DC, the performers were a racially diverse group of college students with a range of body types. Their physically demanding movements (choreographed by LeeAnét Noble) highlighted Owens’ fierce and sporty fashions, while also making a powerful statement about diversity and individuality.

Body Meets Dress, Dress Meets Body

Rei Kawakubo is known for challenging conventions of feminine beauty in her work. She took this to an extreme in her Body Meets Dress, Dress Meets Body collection for Comme des Garçons—nicknamed the “Bump” collection for the soft pads sewn into many of the looks.

Flamenco

Flamenco originated in Spain, where it grew out of Andalusian and Romani (gypsy) music and dance. The traje de flamenco (costume of the female flamenco dancer) is adorned with ruffles and often polka dots. Just as Spanish dance had a profound effect on the Romantic ballet, so also did flamenco costume influence fashion.

Installation view

Balenciaga and Spain

The Spanish couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga was instrumental in bringing the flamenco dancer’s ruffled dress into fashion. This dress was made in his couture house in Paris, where he served an international clientele.

Pink and Black

Balenciaga’s friend, Ana de Pombo, a Spaniard who designed for the House of Paquin, was inspired by flamenco dress—and possibly also by Picasso’s costumes for The Three-Cornered Hat (1919), which featured Tamara Karsavina in a lingerie pink dress trimmed with black lace.

A Theatrical Sensibility

Christian Lacroix’s fashions have always been theatrical. This ensemble, created for Patou the year before he opened his own couture house, demonstrates why he would later be so successful as a costume designer for ballets such as Gaité Parisienne.

In recent years, flamenco dress has inspired a number of designers, including Oscar de la Renta. When designers reference flamenco, the dress may evoke Latin glamour and/or it may convey an aesthetic appreciation of the stylistic possibilities of ruffles.

“Exotic” national dress, especially Spanish dress, has had a visible influence on fashion. As Lynn Garafola writes: “With its seductive curves and Arab influences, Spanish dance represented the Orient nestling in the bosom of Europe itself.”

Fashion designers & ballet

Dance-fashion collaborations escalated dramatically in the late twentieth century, as fashion designers were increasingly invited to create dance costumes. When these collaborations work, the synergy is very exciting.

Installation view

Bal de Couture

Who better than the great Italian couturier Valentino to design the costumes for Peter Martins’ Bal de Couture? “Working with Valentino was a dream come true,” says Marc Happel, costume director of the New York City Ballet. One critic complained about the colored pointe shoes, however, apparently forgetting the iconic film, The Red Shoes.

Valentino for New York City Ballet, costume for Bal de Couture, 2012, lent by New York City Ballet

A New Modern Ballet Fashion Design

Iris Van Herpen is an avant-garde couturier known for her sculptural designs in unusual materials. She studied ballet between the ages of four and eighteen—and created what she describes as “almost the opposite of a pink tutu.” Her pointe shoes were equally unorthodox. “Working with Iris was amazing,” says Marc Happel of the New York City Ballet, “because the project was fashion, architecture, computer technology, a new shape for a pointe shoe, a new modern ballet fashion design.”

Iris Van Herpen for New York City Ballet, costume and pointe boots for Neverwhere, 2013, lent by New York City Ballet

The Black Swan

When Swan Lake was first performed in St. Petersburg in the late nineteenth century, Odile did not wear black. Her first appearance as the Black Swan seems to have dated from 1941. Although it is not known who created the first Black Swan costume, the symbolism of black is complex and multi-faceted, evoking eroticism and charismatic evil. Dior’s Cygne Noir evening gown of 1949-50 was almost certainly inspired by the ballet’s Black Swan.

Men in Skirts

Gianni Versace was known for his sexy, dramatic fashions for both men and women. Here, he put the male dancer in a short skirt, an alternative to tights, which reflects the gradual acceptance in society of men wearing skirts.

Gianni Versace for New York City Ballet, two costumes for Herman Schmerman, 1992, lent by New York City Ballet

Installation view

Deconstructed Tutus

Tara Subkoff, actress, artist, and fashion designer (co-founder of the brand Imitation of Christ), has often worked with choreographer Stephen Petronio. Subkoff’s costumes for Underland (2011), which was choreographed for the Sydney Dance Company, resemble deconstructed tutus with brassiere tops. Petronio has also worked with other fashion designers (such as Narciso Rodriguez), as well as visual artists (Cindy Sherman) and musicians (Rufus Wainwright).

Prabal Gurung and Justin Peck

Designing for dancers was “very different” from designing a collection, says Prabal Gurung. Because Justin Peck’s choreography for Capricious Maneuvers was extremely athletic, Gurung’s costumes had to “accommodate movement and ensure comfort.” But the collaboration was so successful that Peck even altered his choreography after seeing Gurung’s sketches: “I was, like, we’ve got to have one more female in the cast, because I loved his designs.”

Prabal Gurung for New York City Ballet, costume for Capricious Maneuvers, 2013, lent by New York City Ballet

Beene-Clad Ballerinas

Designs by Geoffrey Beene emphasize the body and glorify movement. Indeed, he was one of the first designers to employ dancers to show his garments. Beene’s Spring 1993 collection, for example, which included the balletic dress seen here, was presented as a photographic display featuring images of dancers wearing his designs. Moreover, ballet students dressed in Beene jumpsuits and ballet shoes served as his ushers.

Jean Paul Gaultier, the “enfant terrible” of French fashion, has created many dance costumes. From 1983 to 1993, he collaborated often with choreographer Régine Chopinot. For Les Rats (1984), named after the “little ballerinas” of the nineteenth century, Gaultier deconstructed the vaporous Romantic tutu, recreating it as a proto-punk ensemble.

Right: Yves Saint Laurent for Opéra National de Paris, costume for Esmeralda in Notre Dame de Paris, 1965, lent by Opéra National de Paris

Yves Saint Laurent, one of the greatest fashion designers of the twentieth century, also designed costumes for film, theater, and dance. Although Roland Petit’s ballet Notre Dame de Paris (1965) was set in the Middle Ages, the heroine Esmeralda wore a trendy white mini-dress that laced up the front. Petit said of Yves Saint Laurent: “His forms, materials, and colors give you the impression . . . of wearing contemporary clothes.”

Dancing for A Cause

This costume was designed by FIT alumni Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung for the 2013 Dancers Responding to AIDS benefit. It is rendered in a rich red hue evocative of the AIDS ribbon. “We were given the challenge of creating something appropriate to the somber tone of the dance while remaining contemporary and human,” explain the designers.

Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung, costume for Endlos, from the Dancers Responding to AIDS Benefit, 2013, lent by Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung

It’s Like A Birthmark

Olivier Theyskens designed the costumes for Angelin Preljocai’s Spectral Evidence, which was loosely based on the Salem Witch Trials. Theyskens’ men’s costumes were dark and puritanical, while the women wore sheer, white costumes, each marked in a different place by a livid red silicon shape, like an angry scar or a scarlet letter. “They don’t see it,” Theyskens explained, “but other people do. It’s like a birthmark.”

Olivier Theyskens for New York City Ballet, costume for Spectral Evidence, 2013, lent by New York City Ballet

A Modern Melange

Fashion designer Norma Kamali is known for blurring the lines between high style
and athletic wear. When asked to design for Twyla Tharp, she drew on these references to create costumes that highlighted the choreographer’s particular blend of ballet, jazz, and modern dance—complete with sneakers.

Norma Kamali for American Ballet Theatre, costumes for In the Upper Room, 1988, lent by American Ballet Theatre

A Designer’s Dream

“It is one of the dreams of a designer to design costumes for a ballet,” says Riccardo Tisci, creative director at Givenchy. “Bolero is all about intensity. The music has such an intense feeling. I wanted the dancers to feel naked somehow. The costumes express two sides of me: darkness and romanticism.” The dancers shed several layers as they moved, like ‘flowers losing their petals.”

Riccardo Tisci for Opéra National de Paris, costume for Bolero, 2013, lent by Opéra National de Paris

These Dancers Are Athletes

Having collaborated with Adidas, fashion designer Stella McCartney was ready to collaborate on the ballet Ocean’s Kingdom. “I do performance wear and these dancers are athletes, so I have an understanding of that,” she told The Daily Beast. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that you have to use stretch materials.”

Stella McCartney for New York City Ballet, costume for Peter Martins’ Ocean’s Kingdom, 2011, lent by New York City Ballet

Installation view

Valentino Red

Valentino Garavani has long been famous for a particular shade of red, popularly known as “Valentino red.” This dance costume for Peter Martins’ Sophisticated Lady is highly evocative of Valentino’s couture ball gowns.

Valentino for New York City Ballet, costume for Sophisticated Lady, 2012, lent by New York City Ballet

Rodarte and Millepied

The fashion designers Kate and Laura Muleavy of Rodarte worked with Natalie Portman on the film Black Swan, which also starred French dancer Benjamin Millepied. Later, Rodarte created graphic black-and-white costumes for Millepied’s ballet Two Hearts, which premiered at the New York City Ballet’s 2012 Spring Gala.

Rodarte for New York City Ballet, costume for Two Hearts, 2012, lent by New York City Ballet

Banana Skirt

In 1926, Josephine Baker caused a sensation when she appeared on stage at
the Folies Bergère wearing only a banana skirt. Controversially evoking the erotic/exotic, Baker became a fashion icon in Jazz Age Paris, where she was dressed by all the great couturiers. Her rendition of dances like the Charleston even influenced the choreographer Georges Balanchine. Many years later, Miuccia Prada paid homage to the great performer by reintroducing the idea of a taboo-breaking banana skirt.

En Pointe

Ballet shoes are paradoxical objects: at once evocative of romance and femininity, as well as strength, discipline, and pain. For all of their functional necessity, both pointe shoes and soft ballet slippers play significant roles outside of the world of dance. There have been countless interpretations of the ballet slipper for street wear, and pointe shoes have inspired many shoe designers.

The Influence of Fashionable Shoes

Capezio

Salvatore Capezio founded his eponymous company in 1887, and was established as a premier maker of ballet shoes by the early twentieth century. These “Duro Toe” pointe shoes exemplify one of Capezio’s numerous innovations. Patented shortly after the stock market crash of 1929, they feature suede over the toe (rather than delicate satin), allowing for longer wear.

Capezio for Claire McCardell

Sportswear designer Claire McCardell approached Capezio in the early 1940s, requesting that the company make shoes to match her dresses. The resulting “ballet flats” were immediately successful, in part because they were one of few shoe styles that was not rationed during World War II. Ballet flats are now a staple in many women’s wardrobes.

Biker + Ballerina

These shoes were designed as part of Rei Kawakubo’s Biker + Ballerina collection. Their design combines elements of the soft ballet slipper, such as a flat sole and elastic over the instep, with a square toe reminiscent of pointe shoes.

McQueen’s Titanic Ballerina Pumps

The act of balancing on high-heeled shoes is sometimes compared to standing on pointe. The square toes and grosgrain ribbon trim of these pumps reference traditional pointe shoes, but the heels, constructed from bolted metal plates, are distinctly unconventional. The resulting style is a fusion of femininity and fierce futurism for which Alexander McQueen was known.

Lady Pointe Shoes

Noritaka Tatehana is recognized for his gravity-defying, heel-less shoes, but the Lady Pointe design—measuring an extraordinary eighteen inches tall—is one of his most extreme. The shoes were designed for Lady Gaga, who wore them in a video for the song “Marry the Night.” They were paired with a ballet-inspired costume made from pink latex.

Pointe Shoes and High Heels

Christian Louboutin’s fetish pointe shoe emphasizes the connection between the image of the ballerina on pointe and the iconography of extreme high heels. As Louboutin says: “Isn’t the classical dancing ballet slipper the ultimate heel? The heel which makes dancers closer than any other women to the sky, closer to heaven!”